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Virtuous film premieres at Sunset Theatre

Corrections

The times for the premiere screenings of the Christian film “Virtuous” were left out of Friday’s Faith article. The screenings will take place on Wednesday, June 11, and Thursday, June 12, at 6 p.m. at the Sunset Theatre, 234 Sunset Ave., Asheboro. Admission is free. After the screening of the film, several celebrities that star in the film and the producer will be present for a Q&A session and to sign autographs.

By Julie BatesSpecial to The Courier-Tribune

What makes a virtuous woman?

In modern times, the text of the 31st chapter of Proverbs could seem outdated, yet film producer Jason Campbell has brought these concepts into the 21st century with the movie “Virtuous.”

This film follows the lives of 11 women, beginning in the battlefields of Afghanistan and going to small town Georgia. It looks at women who are at different stages of their lives, whether a college student, a soldier, a single mother or a professional woman nearing retirement.

Campbell wrote the screenplay. A father of two teenage daughters, he wanted to do a feature that highlighted the diversity of women. Utilizing the Biblical text, he applied a virtue to each of the 11 women in the film.

“Proverbs 31 can be kind of mundane in the fact that you can’t really understand an ancient principle in a modern day context,” he said. “It talks about getting up early. It talks about going into the field. It talks about things women don’t think are culturally relevant in today’s society.

“Yet, if you look at those principles, you see they do get into the modern day virtuous woman. We took the text of Proverbs 31 and put it into a script by using the diversity of different women in the different places they are in their life.”

“Virtuous” is the fourth family-friendly and faith-based film created by JC Films. It features some familiar names, such as Erik Estrada (best known for “CHiPs”), Jessica Lynch (former POW) and Christian recording artist Brandy Allison.

The movie features a member of Campbell’s family, as well. “My daughter has a small part in the film. In one scene, she played opposite Erik and she was very nervous about that. The scene is where we get into the idea that failure is not a person, it’s an event. Some people make mistakes and God is in the business of restoring hearts.”

Campbell wants people to realize that mistakes do not have to ruin lives.

“Men and women are different and women handle guilt and shame differently,” he said. “Women feel a stronger burden on their hearts. That’s one thing we really wanted to do with this film is really let women know that, ‘Hey, even though you may have made a mistake, you are not a mistake. Things happen and God has a perfect plan for your life.’ “

But this film is far more than a women’s movie. It has been written to encompass the interest of men, as well.

“Media has bombarded ladies with the idea that this is how you need to dress, this is how you need to act and this is how you need to be,” he said. “In reality, when we look at Proverbs 31, in a modern day sense, then we can see what God has in store for the lives of women. Proverbs 31 was written by a lady to a man, a mother to her son telling him this is what you need to look for. If you look at it in that context, it makes it very appealing to men.

“We start our film immediately with a battle scene. We don’t want men to not come to this film or feel turned off by this film. The first scene of the movie is barreling down a convoy of military soldiers being taken at gun point, big explosions and all that kind of stuff. When men come to watch the movie, they look at the first couple of scenes, they realize it’s pretty cool.

“Men can also relate to the men who are in the scenes. Erik plays a great role in the film, being a protector and provider. We see the failures of some men in this movie. How they’ve helped women and how women have overcome and also how men have overcome. There are a lot of neat relationships that are built within this film, both women and men.”

First Baptist Church agreed to host the event after Brandy Allison contacted them via Facebook. Jennifer Martin, Associate Pastor of Missions, responded and the event was scheduled for the Sunset Theatre.

“We thought this would be too fun to keep to ourselves, so we wanted to open this event to our community, so we thought placing it at the theatre would be better attended than hosting it in our church building. It’s a normal fun gathering place for our community.”

The movie premiere of the Christian film “Virtuous” will occur on Wednesday, June 11, and Thursday, June 12, downtown at the Sunset Theatre. Admission is free. After the screening of the film, several celebrities that star in the film and the producer will be present for a Q&A session and to sign autographs.

Child care will be provided at The Growing Place at First Baptist during the screenings for infant through fifth grade. There is a suggested donation of $5 per child. Registration for child care is available online at fbcasheboro.com.